Improvement in water-wheels



N. F. BURNHAM.

Improvement in Water-Wheels.

N0. 114,525. Patented May 9,1871.

UNITED STATESv PATENT ()FFICEo NATHAN F. BURNHAM, OF YORK,v PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATER-WHEELS."

Specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. 114,525, datedMay 9, 1871.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHAN'F. BURNHAM,

is to secure a more perfect connection between the register-gate and the casing of the wheel than heretofore has been attained, so that the gate may be more easily operated; and the invention consists in combining the casing With a central dome Vand an encircling-ring, having brasses and set-screws, and provided with arms that aresecured at their outer ends to the registerfgate', as hereinafter more fully set forth. l i

The object ofthe nextpart of my invention is to. prevent the accumulation of sand or other substances between the surfaces of the casing and the gate; and the invention consists in forming recesses in the casing, between the chutes, to allow the sand and other sub stances to escape.

The object of the next part of'my invention is to admit the water through the registergate to the chutes in a more perfect manner than has .heretofore been done; and the invention consists in forming the vertical edges of the openings in the register-gatel to correspond with the curvature of the adjacent sides of the chutes, as will hereinafter more fully appear. i

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved wheel, having its several parts fitted together and ready for use; Fig. 2, a vertical central section of the same in the line y y of Fig. 3; Fig. 3, ahorizontal section in the line x .fr ot' Fig. 2, with a portion ot' the casing broken away, to show some of the features of my inventiou more clearly and Fig. 4, a perspective view of the wheel, having its several parts disconnected, to show more clearly the construction and relative arrangement.

The Wheel and shaft are inca-sed-bythe parts A, B, and C, which hereafter will be for the register-gate, as will hereinafter more fully appear. A circular-cover, B, is cast with Y an opening in the center for 'the wheel-shaft, and aconcent-ric: recess to receive .the end of the hub of the dome, and the dome and cover are securelybolted together. The outer edge of the cover rests upon the top of the case G, andv fits snugly within afiange that projects from theouter circumference ofthe case, and the case and cover are. held vtogether byia suitable number of bolts, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of thel drawing. '.lhis case O encompasses thewheel and is cored o1 1t,hoppo`site the mouths ofrthe bucketsof the wheel, to form chutesa for directing the water upon the buckets inY a suitable manner. f The case U below the chutes-forms a cylinder, and is braced and-strengthened by the bridge D, which consists of a thrt e or four armed cast-v ing, which also :forms a support at the intersection of the arms for a wooden step, E.

The lower end of the wheel-shaft F rests upon this step and extendsthrough the dome of the-casing, and is supported at its upper end by wooden bearings G, which are adjustable by set-screws, as clearly shown.

Instead of using the bearings G, I sometimes remove them, together '.vith the upper part of the dome, and substitute an ordinary stuingbox, placed just above thefollowers M.

The wheel H is of the form described and claimed in the patent granted to me February 22, 1859, and reissued September 1, 1863, and does not require a description here.

The register-gate J consists of a circular casting that tits nicely around the upper part of the case C opposite the chutes, and is provided with a flange around the inner circumference of its upper end, that rests upon and is supported by a corresponding iange ou the case (J.

To the upper rim of the register-gate I secure the outer ends of the arms K K K, which are united together at their inner ends by a ring, L, that encircles the hub of the dome A.

"lhe center ring L is provided with a unita'- the gate can be more easily operated than if i it had its bearing only on the-case.

By meansof the adjusting mechanism I am enabled to adjnstthe gatel and `case so that their sides Will be very close together without being in contact With each other, and I thus secure a more perfect` arrangement than in devices Where such adjusting mechanism is not employed.

'lhe register-gate is oscillat'ed by means of acircular cast rack, N, which is attached to the gate, and suitable gearing which is attached to the coverB ofthe case.

t The outside of the case C is recessed betweenV the chutes-t0 form-openings, between the register-gate and the case, for the escape of sand or otherabrasive substance that might be carried along with the/Water' and would get between the two and obstruct the working ofthe gate. 'I

The chutes in the case C are -constructed with curi-'ed walls neartheir outer extremities, (the one concave and the other convex and straight,) slightly converging walls near their inner extremities, and formed so that the Water shall he thrown from them upon the Wheel in a line nearly tangential to its circumference, as more fully described and claimed in the patent granted to me March 3, 186s. r

yThe register-gate J has a series of openings, B, corresponding in number and equal inA area to those of the outer mouths of the chutes.v

One of vthe verticaledges of each of these openings in the register-gate is convex and' the other concave, to correspond with the vertical Walls of the openings or chutes in the case U, so that the Water is guided in the proper channel while passing through the gate and before it reaches the chutes, and by this means the Water is properly directed to the chutes, whether the gate is entirely opened or not, and' a greater percentage of power obtained.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination ofthe hub of the dome secured to the casing, the register-gate inclosing the casing, and the devices for,ad justing the registergate on the hub 'of they dome, 'all these parts being constructed and operating in combination,substantially as set forth, to allow the register-gate to move freely around the casing its Vertical face.

2. The casing, constructed substantially as l 4set forth, with lrecesses in its outer surface,y between the chutes', to leaveroom for the es-f` cape of obstructions between the casing and register-gate.

3. The combination of the casing, having. chutes constructed as described, with f the register-gate, having one of the vertical edges j of eachof its openings concave and the other convex, to'eo'nform to the construction'of the chutes, as set forth'.

. yIn testimony whereof I have hereunto subrlscribed my naine.

NATHAN F. BURNHAM.

Witnesses:

JOE I. PEYTON,

BALTIs DE LONG.

Without actual contacten f 

